Trevor Bauer’s agent says he is rejecting $18.9M qualifying offer

CINCINNATI — Trevor Bauer’s agent says the pitcher is rejecting the Cincinnati Reds’ $18.9 million qualifying offer.

The right-hander, who turns 30 in January, was given the offer on Sunday and had until Nov. 11 to make his decision.

“Why wait for the QO to expire to state the obvious,” agent Rachel Luba tweeted Wednesday.

She added that Bauer “believes the QO is a ridiculous process so let’s just put it to bed.”

Bauer was 5-4 with a National League-leading 1.73 ERA, striking out 100 and walking 17 in 73 innings. Acquired from Cleveland on July 31, 2019, he had a $17.5 million, one-year contract that resulted in $6,481,481 in prorated pay. He would earn a $92,593 bonus for winning the NL Cy Young Award, prorated from an original $250,000.

“Trevor Bauer has rejected the QO but not the Reds,” Luba tweeted, adding “he looks forward to speaking w/ them & all other interested teams thru free agency.”

Bauer was among six players given qualifying offers, joined by Houston outfielder George Springer, New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu, Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto, New York Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman and San Francisco right-hander Kevin Gausman.

By offering compensation, a team losing a qualified free agent would receive a pick in next June’s amateur draft as compensation, either after the first round, after competitive balance round B or after the fourth round, depending on the luxury tax and revenue sharing status of the player’s new team and whether the new contract is for a guarantee of $50 million or more.